Hand tools and their uses
Hand Tools and Their Uses
Hammer
- Blacksmith’s hammer: equipped with a face for hitting hot metal, used to manually shape metal pieces.
- Ball-peen hammer: the round end can be used to expand and shape metal, the flat face for general hammering.
- Cross-peen hammer: the narrow end is used for starting scrolls or reaching into tight areas, while the flat end is used as a traditional hammer.
Tongs and Pliers
- Flat-jaw tongs: used to hold finished or polished work, prevents damaging the work from heat and hammering.
- Wolf-jaw tongs: this versatile tool holds various shapes of metal with a firm grip.
- Round-nose pliers: help with detailed bending and rounding of metal.
Files and Rasps
- Flat file: helps in reducing rough surfaces and shaping metal.
- Half-round file: versatile tool for shaping rounded or flat surfaces.
- Rasp: less precise than a file, used for roughly shaping metal.
Cutting Tools
- Cold chisel: allows cuts to be made into a cold metal-workpiece.
- Hot chisel: similar to the cold chisel but designed for use on hot metal.
- Hack saw: for cutting through solid metal, has a very fine-tooth blade.
Heating Tools
- Forge: the main heating tool for the blacksmith, used to heat metals to high temperatures to make them soft and malleable.
- Flux: a chemical agent, cleaning agent, or purifying agent, used to promote fusion of metals.
Measuring and Marking tools
- Ruler: critical tool for precise measurements.
- Dividers and calipers: used for measuring the internal or external dimensions of an object.
- Punch: used to mark the center point of a hole before drilling.
Finishing Tools
- Wire brush: used to clean the surface of the metalwork after it’s been in the forge.
- Polishing tools: various tools (such as sandpaper or mechanical buffers) used for improving the surface quality of the metalwork.
- Grinders: used for shaping, removing excess material, and sometimes for surface finishing.